


Get Your Face Away From Me

by irinokat



Category: Pacific Rim (2013)
Genre: Accidental/Unexpected Kissing, Drabble Collection, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-08-16
Updated: 2013-08-17
Packaged: 2017-12-23 17:31:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 889
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/929204
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/irinokat/pseuds/irinokat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Hermann gets kissed more often than you'd expect. More often than he likes, at least.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. First Time's an Accident

**Author's Note:**

> This'll be a collection of short fics about awkward moments in the lives of our favorite scientists. New chapters will be posted when the mood hits.

The first time is a half-drunk accident, and Hermann isn’t sure who to hate more for it, Tendo or Newton.

You see, it’s Tendo’s fault that Hermann even went to the makeshift bar in some boffin’s room in the first place, first asking, then nagging, then finally getting to him with repeated comments about not having a life outside his job. That one stuck in his craw, a little too close to the heart, similar things shouted by various family members back home the few times a year his father had been home. So here he is, sitting on a stiff mattress, everyone talking over him and looking right through him because a few drinks of shitty moonshine and illegal scotch are not enough to make Hermann, well, not Hermann. Unlike some people, alcohol doesn’t loosen his tongue or make him any less anxious surrounded by people he hasn’t met and doesn’t particularly care to know.

Then he sees Newton sliding in the door and groans. Dr. Geiszler, his lab partner for two years, the man who can’t stop himself from going a mile a minute at all times; how much worse must he be when he gets drunk? Hermann reaches for his cane, preparing to shin-bash his way to the door if he must, before he feels someone staring at him. He looks up to see Geiszler’s too-wide too-toothy grin. “Hey, bud!” he says, and Hermann cringes. “Never thought I’d see you here!”

“You won’t be seeing me here again,” Hermann says, every muscle going tight. “And we are lab partners, not ‘buds.’”

“We’re lab partners, not buds,” Newton repeats in a stuffed-up, sing-song voice, and Hermann wonders for a moment if he’s already been drinking. The shorter man collapses next to him on the bed; Hermann wonders how he ever sleeps when he literally throws himself into everything he does. Then Newton is sitting up and leaning in and this is now a violation of his personal space. “So, got anything interesting going on? Besides the numbers, I mean.”

Hermann leans away in annoyance and tries to get to his feet, but his damn leg never cooperates, there are far too many people crowded into this tiny bedroom, and maybe he’s just a little more drunk than he thought, because he finds himself slipping back onto the bed the second his feet try to support him. Barely able to control himself, he crashes into Newt and suddenly finds lips scraping cheek and head turning and – oh god in heaven, that’s Geiszler’s mouth on his own.

Herman shoves him away much harder than he meant to, grabs his cane, and throws himself to his feet, half-running out of the room before his legs are given the chance to fail him again.

Newton has the decency not to mention it the next morning, but that might just be because of his badly hidden hangover.


	2. Second Time's a Bet

The second time is the result of a bet. Hermann didn’t know he could be angrier with his coworkers than he already is, but they somehow always find a way.

He walks into the cafeteria, fills a tray, heads toward his usual corner corner with a book as he often does. Sometimes it’s nice to have a chat with Ms. Mori or some of the scientists and techies he can stand, but the number of people whose company he enjoys has decreased radically since the funding cuts started last year, and besides, quiet time with a book is always nice after mornings and afternoons and late evenings spent either listening to or arguing with his lab partner.

His lab partner who is standing right in front of him, not moving.

“Excuse me,” Hermann says, trying his best to be polite in front of half the Shatterdome staff. Just about everyone by now has heard tales about their bickering, but they can at least pretend to be civil around other people. Or so he thinks.

“Hi, Hermann!” Newton says a little bit too enthusiastically. Hermann sizes his partner up, trying to figure out why he is suddenly trembling. This cannot be a good sign.

“Please move.”

“Uh- uh, well,” Newton stammers, and Hermann knows something is definitely up when Newton is unable to speak. He starts to turn, go to the next break in the tables, but someone grabs his elbow. Someone else shouts something in Russian, slang he hasn’t quite picked up since the recent move to the Vladivostok dome. He blinks as someone grips his tray and someone else thumps him on the back, making him nearly fall forward. Newton is yelling something back, and suddenly Newt is entirely too close, again, and his open mouth bumps into Hermann’s, teeth clacking against his lab partner’s. It lasts for less than a minute before Newton shoves himself off of Herman, rubbing his mouth, checking to make sure nothing’s chipped or split, not noticing how the move sends Hermann’s food flying all over him.

Hermann finds his way out of the cafeteria amidst workers staring at him, slapping each other on the back, and exchanging money. He’s made it to his room and changed clothes before he thinks to check his own teeth and hears his stomach growling. HR is surprisingly compliant when he sends an e-mail asking for permission to eat anywhere but the cafeteria.


End file.
